Kroger under fire in anti-gun ads

An advocacy group is increasing pressure on Kroger to ban customers from carrying guns into stores with a nationwide advertising blitz.

Indiana-based gun-control group Moms Demand Action has pressed retailers to tell their customers to leave their guns home. Kroger defers to state and local laws. But in Ohio, Kentucky and other states, the law doesn't explicitly ban the "open carry" of firearms – stores have the discretion to bar firearms.

Now Moms Demand Action is running print and digital ads in local and national newspapers, including the Cincinnati Enquirer and USA Today, calling out Kroger.

The ads depict customers breaking Kroger rules with outside food, skateboards or dressed inappropriately – standing next to an armed shopper. A caption reads: 'One of them isn't welcome at Kroger. Guess which one.'

"These images bring into stark contrast Kroger policies that prohibit skateboards, food and a lack of attire from stores, but allow the open carry of loaded guns," said said Shannon Watts, the group's founder. "This inconsistency is particularly shocking given that the laws in a majority of states do not require a background check, permitting or even training to open carry a firearm."

Throughout the group's campaign against Kroger, company officials have cited their policy on the issue and declined to elaborate.

"Our long-standing policy on this issue is to follow state and local laws and to ask customers to be respectful of others while shopping," Kroger said in a statement. "We know that our customers are passionate on both sides of this issue, and we trust them to be responsible in our stores."

Moms Demand Action said it's spending more than $100,000 on the advertising blitz, but has received some of the $50 million pledged by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg for gun control advocates. The group has targeted other retailers in the last year, including Starbucks and Target, which both issued standing requests to customers to not bring guns into stores.